Should You Always Listen To Your Doctor?

My immediate response to this question, is YES.  Most doctors and dentists have the patients best interest at heart when they prescribe medications and  recommend procedures and tests.  However, patients should always listen to the doctor and their own common sense.  Doctors have been known to prescribe tests that are not really necessary, and dentists have done the same.  The jails are filled with doctors involved in medicare fraud and over prescribing medication.

One 90+ year old woman that I spoke to had changed doctors several years ago and the new physician had recommended that she have the wax cleaned from her ears, a charge of $400.  The next year the woman went in for a physical, and the same procedure was recommended again.  She had her ears cleaned again.  In the third year, when the same procedure was recommended for a third time, the woman caught on.  She had not had this procedure done in the first 90 years of her life, and now, all of a sudden, she needed it every year?  That doesn't make sense.  She determined that the doctor was adding additional treatments to increase her bill.

Many years ago I went to a dentist who told me that I needed deep cleaning.  I had never had any problem with my teeth or gums, so I was a little skeptical.  I decided to change dentists (for another reason), and I went to two more dentists before selecting a new dentist.  Neither of the dentists recommended deep cleaning.  I was also told by the old dentist to remove all my old fillings (the silver ones) and have new ones put in.  I thought this sounded fishy, and decided not to do it.  In researching this subject, I found out it is not necessary to have old fillings replaced unless they are cracked.

Medicine is a business.  Doctors and dentists are  there to help others, but in the end, they're in business.  With insurance and medicare reducing income for doctors, some medical professionals are looking for ways to increase their bottom line.  One thing doctors do today that they never used to do, is require an office visit for absolutely everything.  This way they will get their co-pay.  Gone are the days of doctors calling in a prescription without seeing you.

Use your good common sense and you will usually be right.

This whole story came about when my grandson, age 2, was sent to the dentist for a checkup.  I told my son I was surprised that dental visits were required at such a young age.  I told my son that in my day, children  didn't have a dental visit until around age 5. My son told me all the pediatricians send their 2 year old patients to the dentist, and at six month intervals forever.  Is this necessary, or just a way to improve the dentists' bottom line?  I don't know, but I think we all need to listen to the doctor, and use our own common sense, when deciding on treatment for ourselves or our children.